


Purchases

by loup_garou



Category: Justice League (2017)
Genre: Drabble, Gen, Wayne Enterprises
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-19
Updated: 2018-08-19
Packaged: 2019-06-29 16:24:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15733119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loup_garou/pseuds/loup_garou
Summary: I bought the bank. It's like a reflex with me, I don't know.And someone, presumably, has to deal with this at WE.





	Purchases

Thomas Newton buried his head in his hands and sighed. At this point, he was considering resigning, getting drunk, or murdering his boss as roughly equal opportunities for relief. A bank? With two offices? A small, insignificant bank in rural Kansas? He wished he could say this wasn't what he'd signed up for, but, unfortunately, this was exactly what he'd signed up for when young, naive, and in need of the money.

* * *

The CEO of Wayne Enterprises, Lucius Fox, looked at him across the desk.  
"This is a somewhat idiosyncratic position, Mr. Newton, and requires a good understanding of organisation and leadership, and extensive contact with our communications and PR department," he said. Thomas tried to look like an intelligent and creative person who was not thinking about his mortgage, and how to pay it, at all. The CEO leaned back, sighed, and went on. "Mr. Wayne has a habit of making . . . unexpected purchases of various companies. Those companies need to be checked for possible problems and assigned to an appropriate division of WE."

Thomas had considered this well within his competence, indicated this to Fox, and been signed on with a very nice salary and benefits package. He had gone home very pleased with himself and with his fears for his mortgage calmed - living in the good parts of Gotham was not an inexpensive business, largely because there were so few good parts. How difficult could it be, after all, to handle a few spontaneous purchases by a slightly eccentric billionaire?

* * *

The purchases had been eccentric indeed, and at this point he was no longer considering them spontaneous: in his darker moments he wondered if Wayne made them solely to blight Thomas's life - not that he knew Thomas at all, but presumably he knew there was someone who had to handle those purchases at some point. The tropical island had been bought with Wayne's private funds - he had read about it in the news and thought that, at least, was the kind of whim people expected billionaires to have. Those that didn't appear in the newspapers were more difficult: a patent for a new kevlar weave from a guy in New York (Marvin?); a piece of Icelandic seafront property generating no income at all; a share in a lab in Star City.... and now a bank. In Kansas.

He resisted the urge to pound his head on the desk and started working his way through the various divisions of WE, which did not include a Finance and Banking, trying to see how he could make a coherent argument for the acquisition of this bank. Out in the corridor, Lucius Fox was clearly guiding someone important through the building, explaining as he went who the people were. He stopped at Thomas's half-open door, knocked perfunctorily on the frame, and entered.

"Thomas, good to see you. This, Mr. Wayne, is Thomas Newton, in charge of new acquisitions. He's been with us for a few years now and doing an excellent job."

Bruce Wayne walked in through the door, all six feet two of him, with a vacant smile and his hand held out. "I'm very pleased to meet you, Mr. Newton. How are things?"

Thomas never knew what possessed him. Possibly it was annoyance born by the simultaneous reactions of 'Shit, he's even hotter in reality' and 'Bank! In Kansas!' that simply deprived him of any common sense.

"Thank you, Mr. Wayne, things would be wonderful were it not for the bank you just bought. It deals with small farms and general stores, it has all of eight employees, none of whom have ever been out of Kansas, so far as I can tell, and it has no plans of ever being anything else. How, more exactly, are you imagining this fitting into WE? Or did that thought just never occur to you?"

Silence fell, as he watched Fox trying desperately not to laugh; thanks for the back-up, boss. Laugh at my impending firing, do. He spared a regretful thought for his mortgage, and his planned future which had involved finally getting around to having Charles move in and becoming part of one of those adorable two-dad families with a couple of adopted kids. Or even being able to afford a latte from that place down the street which seemed to cater exclusively to Gotham's top 1%. Like the asshole he'd worked for up until right now.

Bruce Wayne was staring at him like he'd grown two heads. He stared back, unable to form a coherent thought, let alone an apology. And then the billionaire made a rueful face. 

"I'm sorry, that was the last straw, was it?" he said. "I realise that this is not exactly the kind of company we normally acquire, and I'm aware this is not the first time I've done this. Lucius, I think this young man needs a bit of a break." He turned back to Thomas, who braced for the inevitable firing. "I think you should take a few weeks' holiday," he said. "Perhaps in the Bahamas? We own a hotel there, don't we?"

Thomas heard himself say "Yes, Julia's Bar and Inn. Very boutique little place, makes no money at all." 

Wayne clapped him on the shoulder with unnecessary force, making his knees buckle slightly. "There you are! Why don't you take a few weeks there, at the company's expense. Bring a girlfriend, or boyfriend, or both for that matter." He shook Thomas's hand again, patted Lucius's shoulder in passing - Thomas was gratified to see that Lucius, too, stumbled a little from the force of it - and wandered off down the corridor. Thomas stared at Lucius. 

"He likes you," Lucius said. "Let me know when you want to take that leave. And put that bloody bank wherever you like."

Thomas nodded mutely, sat back down, and absentmindedly assigned the bank to Wayne Foods on the strength of corn being the only thing he knew Kansas produced. So that was Wayne. This job was not getting any less weird.


End file.
